


It's not what's outside, but what's inside that counts

by silvermoongirl10



Series: Clone Wars Senior Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi AU [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Cody is beginning to see why Qui-Gon wanted him to watch Obi-Wan's back, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Mildly injured Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29336856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermoongirl10/pseuds/silvermoongirl10
Summary: 'Currently, the 212th were on a joint mission with the 501st, meaning Obi-Wan got to spend some time Anakin. Who immediately went into big brother mode by asking him how he was doing and was he eating enough? The snorts from Waxer’s platoon caused him to roll his eyes and push Anakin away from him as he walked towards the briefing room.But if he thought the mission was going to be an easy one, with some minor explosions, due to Anakin’s involvement, he was very wrong. What should have been a simple droid factory, turned out to have Dooku’s newest apprentice, Ventress, laying a trap for them.'
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ghost Company & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Pre-CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi - Relationship, Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Clone Wars Senior Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153232
Comments: 11
Kudos: 225





	It's not what's outside, but what's inside that counts

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in 22 BBY, so Obi-Wan is 22 years old.

It was five months into the war. While Obi-Wan would never be comfortable with the thought of fighting in a war, he felt more at ease with the idea as he got to know the men more. He and Cody would work in their shared office, either silently or while talking, all the while sipping on tea. After the Geonosis footage incident, Ghost Company had, dare he say it, become protective of him. After Flycatcher had shyly asked what the beads in his braid stood for, Obi-Wan should not have been surprised when five days later, Waxer’s platoon, with Cody, timidly handed him a golden bead they had made between them. Their hesitance telling him they were not sure if their small gift would be accepted. Without hesitation Obi-Wan had asked his Master, who had been stood to the side with a broad grin on his face, to please add the bead to his braid. It still brought a smile to Obi-Wan’s face when he saw the pleased and awed expressions on the group’s faces when the braid was undone and re-braided with their bead added to the rest.

Currently, the 212th were on a joint mission with the 501st, meaning Obi-Wan got to spend some time Anakin. Who immediately went into big brother mode by asking him how he was doing and was he eating enough? The snorts from Waxer’s platoon caused him to roll his eyes and push Anakin away from him as he walked towards the briefing room.

But if he thought the mission was going to be an easy one, with some minor explosions, due to Anakin’s involvement, he was very wrong. What _should_ have been a simple droid factory, turned out to have Dooku’s newest apprentice, Ventress, laying a trap for them.

Cody and Captain Rex were with the three Jedi in the briefing room as they discussed how they were going to distract Ventress and destroy the factory at the same time. When a thought occurred to Obi-Wan, he must have made a noise because suddenly the four other men around the conference table all looked at him.

“Have you anything to add Padawan?” asked his Master as he stroked his beard in thought.

“Well, Anakin has already had a run in with Ventress and she doesn’t like him. So, Anakin could draw her away from the factory and I could go with him as back up while you and the men from the 212th and 501st destroy the droids and the factory,” suggested Obi-Wan. He noticed Anakin was already nodding in agreement with his plan, Rex was rolling his eyes muttering about how his General was going to do something reckless, Master Qui-Gon looked hesitant, the mere thought of his Padawans facing a Dark Side user without him clearly worrying him. However, it was Cody’s reaction that surprised him.

The Commander was usually happy to go along with his plans, even with mild sarcasm about his recklessness, but on this occasion, Cody looked very unsettled with the plan. Cody didn’t say anything when the plan was agreed. But when everyone started to leave the briefing room, Cody hung back, looking at the conference table with a frown on his face. So, Obi-Wan stayed behind to check on the Commander and walked around the table until he was stood beside the other man. “Cody is everything alright?” Seeing the other man hesitate, Obi-Wan added. “You are my friend; you know you can speak freely to me.”

Cody shook his head once, with a grimace on his face as he rested in hands on the conference table and bent his head forward. “I don’t like this plan.”

Leaning his hip against the table, Obi-Wan crossed his arms loosely over his chest and dipped his head to try and look Cody in the eye. “What part in particular is troubling you?”

As his long Padawan braid swung in the air, Cody’s eyes followed the movement of his braid as he sighed heavily. “You and General Skywalker will be facing Ventress without any backup.”

“We are each other’s backup,” Obi-Wan replied soothingly. Sensing in the Force that as much as Cody was trying to hide it, this mission was unsettling him.

Finally, Cody looked up at him, his brown eyes conflicted. “So far in this war, you’ve had Ghost Company and I backing you up. I suppose I don’t like that this will be the first mission you have to complete without us.”

Obi-Wan smiled and clapped Cody on the shoulder. “Anakin and I have worked together for ten years. We can look after each other.”

Cody raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “The stories I’ve heard about the two of you suggest you get into more trouble than out of it.” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, knowing Cody was especially thinking about Geonosis when he and Anakin got chained to poles in the arena.

“Hey, we found you all on Kamino just fine,” he countered with a small smile.

“By accident,” smirked Cody as he stood up so he could cross his arms in front of him. “I’ve heard General Jinn tell the story to the men. You and General Skywalker had no idea what you were walking into.”

“Well, it is hard to know what you are walking into when you are looking for a planet deleted from the Archives,” tutted Obi-Wan in amusement. Thinking he was not at all sorry it was left to Master Windu to explain to Master Nu that someone had tampered with her Archives. Apparently, her reply had terrified nearby Knights and Padawans.

Cody chuckled, but then his expression grew serious. He reached out a hand and squeezed one of Obi-Wan’s hands. “Just please be careful sir,” with that he turned and left the room. Leaving Obi-Wan to wonder why his heartrate picked up and his stomach twisted, he shrugged off the unknown feeling, determining he was just touched at the Commander’s concern for him.

* * *

“The factory is destroyed. How is the distraction going Padawan?” Master Qui-Gon asked over the comms.

“A little _too_ well Master!” exclaimed Obi-Wan as he dodged another of Ventress’ lightsabers. Ending up doing a forward roll on the rocky ground, before righting himself on his feet as Anakin surged towards their opponent. “I misunderstood her dislike of Anakin. She _hates_ him!” He gasped in exertion, the edge of the rocky cliff, making fighting on the uneven ground hard work. He was glad he had forgone his chest and shoulder plates of armour, knowing they would have slowed him down. But he was distantly aware with no armour, his forward roll had caused him to cut his upper arm and shoulder on the sharp rocks, but chose to ignore the warm blood he felt flowing over his skin.

As he threw himself back into the fight, blocking a blow that would have cut across Anakin’s chest. Over his comm he heard some of the men chuckling and a mutter that must have belonged to Rex, “I wonder why? It’s not like he’s ruined four of her missions.”

Anakin was shoved to the side, and Obi-Wan was successfully able to block both of Ventress’ lightsabers in a lock hold, he had not prepared himself for her to kick him. He felt himself launched back, she had obviously used the Force to enhance her kick, causing him to hit a rocky outface ten feet away from the edge of the cliff. “Oomph,” he gasped as all of the air was knocked out of his lungs. He landed heavily on his feet, causing his knees to jerk and buckle under his weight, as he hit the ground his lightsaber rolled out of his lax grip, bouncing over the rocks.

“Padawan!” shouted his Master, obviously hearing the commotion over the commlink channel and probably sensing the impact of Obi-Wan hitting the rocks through their training bond. “Obi-Wan answer me!”

Trying to reply only brought on a coughing fit, so as Anakin fought Ventress, keeping her away from Obi-Wan, he replied to his Master through their training bond. _Ventress just knocked the air out of my lungs. I’ll be alright._ He took slow and steady breaths, bringing his breathing back under control and readying himself to re-join the fight, all the while blinking blood out of his eye. A cut on the top of his forehead from where his head had met rock bleeding.

 _Don’t rush yourself!_ Ordered his Master, worry seeping into the other man’s mental voice. _If you need time to recover take it! Anakin can handle Ventress for now, Ghost Company and Captain Rex are on their way to you!_

But as Obi-Wan looked up from his sprawled-out position on his side and saw Ventress unbalance Anakin on the uneven rocks, he knew he had to do something. So, he called his lightsaber to him using the Force and once the hilt landed in his hand, he was launching himself across the uneven rocks. He managed to force Ventress back, swinging his lightsaber down in a blazing sapphire arc, as her two blood red lightsabers locked with his, creating a sharp crackling sound, he grimaced and used all his strength to keep her away from Anakin who was pushing himself to his feet.

“What do we have here?” Ventress sneered. “A brave little Padawan,” she tilted her head, as if she was considering him. “I wonder how long you will last. I know your precious Order has already lost Padawans to this war. I wonder when you will join them?” As she pushed her lightsabers back against his, she caused his feet to slide back on the rocks, he felt the sharp edges digging into the soles of his boots, all the while pushing back to keep himself standing, blinking blood out of his eyes and ignoring the flare of pain in his shoulder.

From his commlink he heard Ghost Company calling to him, he couldn’t make out their words as his blood roared in his ears. He kicked out his left leg, connecting with Ventress’ knee and causing her to stumble as he released his lightsaber from the lock hold and managed to wound Ventress on her right arm.

Ventress’ eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “You will not last long. I will see to _that_ little Padawan.” As Ghost Company’s voices carried from the commlink and the still air, Ventress looked around her. Anakin was rushing towards them and Ghost Company were nearby. “But I’ll let you live a little longer,” she cackled. Then with a flick of her hands, both Anakin and Obi-Wan were flung through the air, landing on their backs heavily, both groaning. Just as Ghost Company and Captain Rex ran around the rocky outface, just in time to see Ventress flee on her ship that a droid must have flown over them.

Obi-Wan coughed as he tried to draw more air into his lungs. _Again_. He turned himself on his side and jumped when a pair of un-gloved hands rested on his jaw. He blinked his eyes against the blood still dripping into his eyes and found himself looking up at Cody’s worried face. He felt his skin tingle and put it down to the rush of adrenaline as he rested his hands on Cody’s arms and used his friend to pull himself up so he could sit up.

“I’m alright Cody,” he said, his voice hoarse as he coughed into his elbow.

“Let Patch be the judge of that sir,” replied Cody, his voice perfectly flat, contrasting to the flare of worry in his eyes.

From the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan noticed Rex help Anakin to his feet and lead his brother-Padawan away, not before Anakin turned to check on Obi-Wan with his own eyes. Obi-Wan smiled and nodded at Anakin and then winced when the movement jarred his head.

Blackeye suddenly appeared beside Cody, his short military cut hair dishevelled with his scruff beard and wide eyes making him look like a warrior from the tales Obi-Wan was told in the Creche. Between the two men, Obi-Wan was slowly brought up to his feet. The two of them clipping their helmets onto their belts while they hooked their arms under Obi-Wan’s arms and slowly led him down from the top of the cliff, back onto soft grass as they walked back towards the meeting point. Waxer’s platoon walked slowly around him, almost like they were purposefully creating a protective circle around him as they watched the sky in case Ventress reappeared.

Once they reached the meeting point, Obi-Wan had to contain a chuckle as Patch, the 212th lead medic and his Master seemed to be in a race to see who reached him first. Cody and Blackeye brought him to a stop as Patch descended on him. The medic’s slightly longer black hair, tied in a short nerf tail, wisps of hair twisting in the breeze as he looked over Obi-Wan with a critical eye.

“Just bruises and cuts, Patch,” stated Obi-Wan, his voice becoming more normal again.

“Uh huh,” hummed Patch. The medic then nodded, and as Master Qui-Gon reached them, Patch said. “You will go up in one of the first gunships and I will meet you in the Medbay so I can apply bacta to your injuries.” The medic then turned and went back to checking the men who had attacked the droid factory.

Obi-Wan was tugged out of Cody and Blackeye’s hold and gently held in his Master’s arms. “By the Force Padawan. You had me worried,” the older man’s voice cracking ever so slightly.

“I’m alright Master,” he replied lowly, while he patted his Master’s back soothingly. Master Qui-Gon leaned back to look at him, gently tracing his fingers over the cut on Obi-Wan’s forehead and frowning at the fresh and dried blood crusting over the side of his face. “You know head wounds bleed Master.”

His Master rolled his eyes, “thanks to you and Anakin. I am _very_ aware of that fact thank you Padawan mine.” He then squeezed Obi-Wan’s shoulders before he turned to Cody. “Cody, take Ghost Company and Obi-Wan back to the Negotiator. We will be departing shortly.”

“Yes General,” replied Cody with a nod. He and Blackeye then began leading Obi-Wan down to the gunships. As they walked, Obi-Wan tilted his head to the side and noticed the troubled look was still in Cody’s eyes, leading him to worry about the number of men they lost at the droid factory.

“Are you alright Cody? Did we lose many men?” he asked softly.

Cody shook his head, “we didn’t lose any. Men were only wounded. Which leads me to wonder why it was so easy for us to destroy the factory.”

Obi-Wan came to a sudden stop, his gaze trained on the men gathered around the gunships. Cody and Blackeye asked if he was alright, but Obi-Wan began cursing himself. “We played right into Ventress’ trap. We thought the factory was the trap. But it wasn’t. _She was_. She wanted to stop Jedi not the men.” He turned to Cody and noticed the horrified look in the Commander’s gaze, as the rest of Ghost Company cursed loudly around him.

“She wanted you and General Skywalker,” stated Cody blankly.

“Well, she’s _kriffing stupid_. We’ve got the best Jedi in the GAR,” snarled Blackeye. His brown gaze searching the immediate area, as if he was hoping Ventress would appear so he could fight her.

Longshot nodded, “she underestimated you.”

Obi-Wan nodded, but he couldn’t help but feel this had all been a test. Ventress was now familiar with Anakin, he felt she wanted to learn his own fighting style. Her words about dead Padawans rang in his ears. It was true, they had lost seven Padawans since the start of the war, all of them to lightsaber users. Leading Obi-Wan to wonder how many of the Padawans Ventress had killed herself. He looked up and met Cody’s gaze. The Commander’s eyes fierce as he also came to the same realisation as Obi-Wan. Ventress had only just started her plan, and Anakin and Obi-Wan were in her direct line of sight. He felt Cody’s grip on his arm tighten, and then he was propelled towards the gunship, leaving Blackeye a step behind as he jerked forward to keep up. It was as if Cody wanted Obi-Wan off the planet as quickly as possible.

* * *

Leaning back against the raised medical bed, Obi-Wan sighed as he fought the urge to scratch. The bacta patches placed over his arm, shoulder and head itching as they healed his skin. Just as he decided to risk it, seeing as Patch was not nearby, he raised his hand about to scratch his forehead, when his hand was stopped. He looked to his right and found Cody smirking at him, a mug of tea held in his other hand.

“I would not risk Patch’s ire if I were you sir,” Cody smirked, his eyes alight with amusement. Causing Obi-Wan to sniff in annoyance, it was easy for Cody to say, his face wasn’t the one itching like mad. The look on his face seemed to inform Cody of his feelings, because the other man rolled his eyes and thrust the mug of tea towards him. “You just need a distraction.”

As Cody let go of his hand, Obi-Wan grinned in thanks as he carefully wrapped his hands around the mug, his fingers brushing against Cody’s. He clenched his fingers around the mug, the strange tingly feeling back. As Cody took a seat beside his bed and started to fill out his reports on his datapad, Obi-Wan sipped his tea in thought. Oh. _Oh_. He felt his eyes widen when he realised, it wasn’t anything to do with adrenaline or Cody being concerned for him. With sudden clarity, he realised the reason why his skin tingled, why his stomach twisted and why his heartrate increased. He was falling in love with Cody. He took another sip of tea, his thoughts swirling around his head.

Cody was very dear to him, and that was the reason why Obi-Wan decided he could not act on his feelings. Cody and his brothers had been designed _for_ the Jedi and while he knew Cody was starting to view him as a friend, he couldn’t tell Cody about his feelings. He was worried the other man would only confess similar feelings because he felt he _had to_ , because Obi-Wan was one of his commanding officers. So, Obi-Wan resolved himself to just having Cody’s friendship, which was enough. _It was_.

**Author's Note:**

> As the 212th does not have a named medic, I created one called Patch. Named for always carrying bacta patches on him.


End file.
